The city of Kent will takes its place on the world stage next week when the Washington State Community, Trade and Economic Development\u2019s Trade Week 2009 wraps up with a pair of events at the ShoWare Center.<\/p>\n
The week is designed as an opportunity to bring the state\u2019s foreign representatives home as well as give local businesses the opportunity to meet the people who represent Washington\u2019s business interests in more than 30 countries.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the one week a year we being back all our foreign representatives,\u201d said Mark Calhoon, senior managing director at CTED.<\/p>\n
The four-day event features stops all over the Evergreen State, including Seattle, Wenatchee, Spokane, Bellingham and Tacoma, but wraps up with a symposium and then the Governor\u2019s Trader of the Year awards reception, both March 19, at the ShoWare Center.<\/p>\n
\u201cKent\u2019s kind of the big, all-day gala event,\u201d Calhoon said.<\/p>\n
According to Calhoon, CTED tries to pick one greater-Seattle location each year for the event.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had our eye on Kent for quite a while,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re glad it worked out this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Calhoon said moving the event around gives the representatives a chance to meet with businesspeople from different parts of the state to discuss what CTED can do for their businesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ultimate goal of all this work is to create jobs and employment opportunities for Washington citizens,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Calhoon said CTED reps tend to focus on industries such as aerospace, software and clean technology, but all businesses are welcome.<\/p>\n
Business leaders also can learn about state resources devoted to trade and export assistance and hear about key trade issues, including emerging business opportunities in Washington\u2019s key markets and obstacles U.S. businesses face when exporting.<\/p>\n
A lunch symposium features in-depth discussions about markets in Europe and Asia.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt should be a pretty interesting program,\u201d Calhoon said.<\/p>\n
The week\u2019s events close with the Governor\u2019s Trader of the Year awards banquet, hosted this year by Lt. Gov. Brad Owen. This year\u2019s awards are set to go to Mulvanny G2 Architecture of Bellevue and SonoSite Inc. of Bothell.<\/p>\n
Mayor Suzette Cooke, who was in Washington, D.C., this past week on an economic-development mission, said in an e-mail that Kent\u2019s location between Tacoma and Seattle, as well as its large amount of warehouse distribution space, made Kent a \u201chub of international trade.\u201d The mayor also cited the ShoWare center as a successful example of how to bolster a local economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cShoWare Center is a great example of economic development: construction jobs, FT and PT jobs, sales and admission tax revenues. It is a tourism attraction and is providing increased economic activity at surrounding businesses. Not to mention being environmentally friendly as a LEED Silver, and potentially Gold-rated building,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n
Kent Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Andrea Keikkala agreed the event was an opportunity to showcase Kent.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany of Kent\u2019s businesses are contributors in the international market and this symposium brings foreign trade representatives from around the globe to meet face-to-face with local businesses and community leaders,\u201d she wrote in an e-mail. \u201cNot only does this event give us access to the lieutenant governor to share our concerns regarding the local business community on a state and international level, we are also able to showcase our new ShoWare Center to the attendees from around the state of Washington.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Learn more<\/p>\n
For more information or tickets to the symposium, contact the Kent Chamber of Commerce at 253-854-1770. For more information on the Trader of the Year Awards Reception contact the World Trade Club at 206-686-3736.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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